Is this the perfect sized SUV for a family?

It drives beautifully both in town and on the open road and has all the safety you’d be looking for with a family.
- byNedahl Stelio

29 Oct
2018

Mazda’s CX-8 sits in between the five-seater CX-5 and the large seven-seater CX-9, in that it has seven seats but it’s not as big as a CX-9. It’s smaller, so a bit easier to manoeuvre, it’s not as heavy to drive as a proper seven seater, and parking is a lot easier - I fit into a few parking spaces that surprised me.

On this top of the range model there’s a front, rear and 360 degree camera that all work in tandem so you don’t scrape the car.

You feel pretty good driving the CX-8 on the road, it looks good and matches up to other cars around it. Inside is also pretty swish, but do note I was in the top of the range Asaki which has an extra $15000 worth of glorious interiors like nappa leather seats (they look and feel amazing), the front and outer middle row seats are also heated. The centre dash area is beautifully designed with a mix of vegan leather and high-gloss black creating a very stylish interior feel.

Mazda uses its own multimedia system on the seven inch touchscreen, which includes a sat nav, digital radio and bluetooth connectivity. It is behind on the technology of Apple Carplay and Android Auto, but they will both be available at the end of 2018 and you are able to retrofit these into your Mazda.

Nedahl StelioNedahl has been a journalist for two decades, spending five years as editor of Cleo magazine and has been an editor at Cosmopolitan, Good Food and the Fairfax ‘Health’ section. She’s written across various topics for a range of high-profile food, health, travel and fashion-focused titles.